Rebounding from Childbirth: Toward Emotional Recovery [Paperback]

Lynn Madsen (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0897893484 | ISBN-13: 978-0897893480 | Publication Date: July 30, 1994

"Never mind what you've been through. The baby's here, he's healthy. That's the most important thing, isn't it?" Few women planning a pregnancy or anticipating childbirth would dispute that the safe birth of a healthy child is their primary concern. Even when this happy outcome is achieved, however, the process of childbirth itself can wreak havoc on a woman's emotional and physiological well-being--especially when unforeseen medical complications change the expected course of labor and delivery. Rebounding From Childbirth--the first book to focus exclusively on the mother's feelings about a difficult birth--shows how traumatic childbirth forces a woman to suddenly relinquish cherished hopes for her experience of actually becoming a mother. Amid the joys of a healthy baby, the mother's feelings of anger, grief, failure and disappointment often get scant attention from family, friends and medical personnel. Drawing from her own life as a professional counselor and mother of three, Lynn Madsen argues that a woman should not underestimate her own need to recover emotionally and physiologically from a violent birth experience. Without true healing, Madsen's analysis reveals, a new mother's suppressed sense of loss and pain can affect her relationships with her baby and husband, her body image, her feelings about going back to work, even her hopes for future pregnancies and births. Through her own story and those of other women, Madsen offers comfort, hope, and an intensely personal perspective to new mothers who feel alone with a range of negative feelings about childbirth. Taking a dual stance as counselor and mother, she structures self-analytical questions and outlines techniques such as journal and letter writing to help the reader begin the healing journey. For obstetricians, nurses, midwives, new mothers and mothers-to-be, Rebounding From Childbirth provides moving insight and counsel on a difficult subject.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book is more than useful: it is necessary in the American context after several generations of medicalized birth. The time has come to consider the healing process millions of mothers need after giving birth.”–Michel Odent, M.D. author of The Nature of Birth and Breastfeeding

“A psychologist's moving account of her own birth trauma and an exploration into the process of healing that a woman can experience afterwards. If birth was bad for you, this book can help you work through depression and despair and find self-confidence.”–Sheila Kitzinger

“This little gem of a book will be transformative for those wounded women fortunate enough to read it, and extraordinarily useful to the therapists who are trying to help women heal from the iatrogenic traumas all too commonly generated by hospital birth.”–Robbie E. Davis-Floyd, Ph.D. author of Birth as an American Rite of Passage

About the Author

LYNN MADSEN is a psychologist who specializes in traumatic birth experiences in the Minneapolis area.

Product Details

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: Bergin & Garvey Trade (July 30, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0897893484
• ISBN-13: 978-0897893480
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #465,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Postpartum Depression

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, sensitive, kind treatment of birth trauma, October 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Rebounding from Childbirth: Toward Emotional Recovery (Paperback)

This book represents one-of-a-kind treatment of the emotional havoc that a traumatic birth can have on a mother, and in turn her partner and baby. It is particularly effective in utilizing the birth stories of three women (including the author herself), which come from a spectrum of birth-traumatic experiences: the unnecessary cesearean, the absolutely necessary cesearean, and the highly manipulated vaginal birth. Through the accounts of these three women, a pathway is shown for many to follow in coming to terms with their own birth trauma. Perhaps the most commendable aspect of Madsen's treatment of the subject is that she choses to acknowledge birth trauma and the possible depression that follows as something other than "just hormonal," and even makes a good case for birth trauma being a particular instance of post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Besides the much-appreciated acknowledgment (to this reader, at any rate) that birth trauma is not merely unjustified self-pity, Madsen provides very concrete ways of coming to terms with what has happened and pushing on with life. Each chapter has "journal topics" for women to think, write or talk about. She also includes an entire chapter, "Creative Tools for Recovery," which details several more pathways, including art, writing, storytelling, dreams, bodywork, among others.

Not only is this book a must-read for any woman who has had a less than ideal birth, it would be highly recommended to people who have contact with new moms, including partners (who may have their own birth stress as well), doctors, nurses, midwives, doulas, counselors, and so forth.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A need for this book, but will not serve all, June 11, 2002

By 

"sarahs4" (CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rebounding from Childbirth: Toward Emotional Recovery (Paperback)

Perhaps if I read this book after my first birth, I might look at it differently, but I read it after my last birth and I felt left with the thought afterwards of "now what". After 3 difficult births, I had already gone through a lot of grief, research, and personal thought before we had our 4th child nearly a year ago. Despite doing everything I could do to have a good birth experience, it was an extremely difficult one. I do not plan on more children (nor did I before my last birth). This book, along with other books of this subject (related to cesarean trauma/birth trauma/VBAC issues) puts a lot of emphasis of planning for a "next birth". For many people who grieve because of a birth trauma (i.e. excess pain and suffering whether cesarean or vaginal, prolonged separation from baby due to health issues, a loss of child), it may be our last birth and while I'm pleased the author's second birth was a good experience, not all of us will have that option. What I needed was a book to help me come to terms with my experiences and integrate it into who I am, not something that seemed to gear so much toward a future birth. Traumatic births are life-altering experiences, but some of us do not get another chance. This book is necessary and I would recommend to anyone who is planning more children with a past difficult birth or loss, but I wouldn't recommend to anyone who knows that their traumatic experience will be their last birth experience.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, April 22, 2003

By 

Allison S. Parlapiano (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rebounding from Childbirth: Toward Emotional Recovery (Paperback)

I thought this was a great book for those of us with negative feelings of our birth experiences. Some real truths are dealt with here and I felt better reading about situations and emotions like my own. The book helped me realize that what I was feeling and people's reactions to my feelings were not at all uncommon. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to recover from a negative experience and feels that no one understands. I am so glad I found it!